Weather injection FS9 DEMO

[lissart]

Morning.

I have just started looking at the FS9 demo version and see much potential.  However, I have stalled...  I cannot get any weather loaded into FSCaptain from any of my wx programs (FSMeteo/FSRealWx/FSGlobal real weather etc).  So nothing is available either in the Dispatch page or FCDU.  When trying to set up the Weather tab the supplied default links are wrong; no problem - I can browse to the correct ones.  However, all I get is either a warning that there is no suitable file at that location or a file is found but no METARs are available for a list of airports.  The FCDU just tells me nothing is loaded in FS!  (Which it is.)  I get the same errors on a Windows XP machine as well as a Windows 10 one.  OK - so there is a "native" option which appears to give the option to download internet weather.  This it seems to do - METAR's and TAF's - but still nothing is injected into FSCaptain.  This lack of up-to-date weather renders the Dispatch/planning side of the program pointless of course.

My apologies for the clumsy description.  Any ideas anyone....?

Bestest,
LISSART

PS: Preferred options = FS9, Windows XP, FS Global Real Wx

[S2Kureigu]

Hey mate,

I use FSRealWX myself, and you need to ensure that you're pointing FSCaptain directly at the "metar.txt" output, not just the Folder itself. Do you have that configured correctly?

[lissart]

Aug 9, 2021 11:02:03 GMT -5 S2Kureigu said:

Hey mate,

I use FSRealWX myself, and you need to ensure that you're pointing FSCaptain directly at the "metar.txt" output, not just the Folder itself. Do you have that configured correctly?

High to You!  Well, that's what I thought I needed to do.  And indeed attempted.  However, there is NO metar.txt file to be seen!  I use FS GLOBAL real wx.  Isn't there a similarly named program "FS Real WX" (no "Global") with a Lite version?  Anyhow, what I've got is another file type extension but no .txt.  I will see if actually FS Global is downloading the file and putting it somewhere else.   I mean clearly if I'm not pointing FSC in the right place, it won't be able to read the file!  Cheers.

[Travis]

Hi Lissart,

It's great to meet another FS9 Captain - welcome aboard!

From our notes (dated 2013) Pilot's FS Global Real Weather exports a file named "current_weathercomplete.txt" which we can parse for weather - both METAR and upper level data.

This file is contained within the program's installation folder: \FSGRW\data\exchange\common\current_weathercomplete.txt.

Could you please check to see if such a file is still generated... and could you also please privately email us a sample of this file (if you can generate one).  I'd be happy to correct anything that I can detect has been changed.

Best regards,

[lissart]

Travis,

First post tonight below for reference.  The problem is in fact not resolved.  The current_weathercomplete.txt does not appear to be the download that FSGRW is actually using.  This file was created some time back in March.  The "most recent weather" download is infact a file called "wx.cwd" located in D:\FSGRW\data\downloads\   Having checked current METAR's I can confirm that this IS the up to date weather; the current_weathercomplete.txt one that I found certainly is not!  (For info, this wx.cwd file is MORE current than that found on several sites I use, which tend to have a bit of a lag before the wx gets reported = ogimet.com for example.)  Attempting to open the .cwd with notepad does not work.....  I'd conclude that FSC cannot in fact read the FSGRW .cwd file - because it is not a simple .txt file - and that is why I cannot inject the weather into the program.  Any thoughts?

AW



Hi Travis,

Well, it would be perhaps stretching the point to say I am an FS Captain captain - given I'm still in DEMO mode but yep, FS9 Captain certainly! Anyway, you have excelled yourself by giving me the name of the file I needed. This was NOT where you suggested it would be, or indeed where I thought it would be. The location you mentioned was empty. However, I have located the varmit in Document and Settings\Andy\Desktop etc etc. (Long and convoluted path....) Once FSC was pointed to the right place, naturally it worked just fine! Thanks - I shall continue learning the program in a much better frame of mind!

L

[Travis]

Hi Lissart,

The FSGRW documentation for "Version 1.7 Build #015" from their website states this:

FS Global Real Weather writes three files (current_weather.txt, current_weathercomplete.txt and current_weatherbylatlon.txt) into the data\exchange\common subfolder of the installation folder of FS Global Real Weather. However, it does so only if the option is checked in the settings dialog of FS Global Real Weather (Tools → Settings → General → Enable Data Exchange).

Could you please check to see if that setting still exists in your copy - and if it exists, does it create the txt file correctly?

If there's no way you can see to generate that txt file, then I'll have to ask Pilots if they've some other mechanism in place.  It likely would help if I could let them know what version of FSGRW you are using....
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Aug 10, 2021 14:20:53 GMT -5 lissart said:

Well, it would be perhaps stretching the point to say I am an FS Captain captain - given I'm still in DEMO mode but yep, FS9 Captain certainly!

As far as we are concerned, if you use FSCaptain, then we consider you to be an FSCaptain whether you are a customer or not.  If someone tries FSCaptain for a while and decides it doesn't complement their flying... then they're not an FSCaptain - no hard feelings.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Dutch started FSCaptain in the late 2000s because he had several freeware add-ons that simulated various things and "FSCaptain" was a way to bring them all together and add a little polish to simulate being a "professional pilot."  Dutch didn't want someone to buy a copy without being able to try it out first, so he came up with the scheme of unlimited flights from a few airports so anyone could test any type of (non-water) flight to see if FSCaptain suited their style of flight.

Any user - whether as a customer or not - can participate in our Public Beta testing, and any user can report bugs for resolution.
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We added support for FSGRW circa 2013-2014 if I remember correctly.  If something has changed since then... it's news to us.  So we're happy to take your report and do what we can - because if it helps you, it's bound to help someone else.

Best regards,

[lissart]

Evening Travis!  (Well, evening it is where I am....)

To answer your questions about the FSGRW setting - it does and it does!  I must own up to not having clocked that setting in FSGRW.  But then even if I had seen it, I'm not sure I would have understood it's relevance for FSC until you told me what to do.  But that wasn't the end of the story though because it seems that there are two sets of FSGRW pathways on my system.  (I know not why.....)  After fiddling about for a good 40 minutes with a limited degree of comprehension the penny dropped, I pointed FSC at the right place and - LO! - it all worked!  Should have been simple right?  Anyhow, I can now move forward.

I enjoyed reading your FSC Mission Statement in the second half of your post.  And if you will allow, I applaud you for it.  There is plenty of room in the modern world for the attitude demonstrated therein.  And it does make for a more engaged sense of community for those of us that are starting out with the program.  The cynic in me says that it is also good business sense but in this case I sense it is more than that....  Thanks.   

Returning to the Admin window not fully visible thing, having perused the forum it seems that this has dogged FSC for some years.  As I suggested in a previous post, can you not just make the window re-sizeable?  For me it is not too much of a problem as I can move it around across my multi- monitors but it is an irritation.  Then so is life in one sense!!

Best regards,
AW

[Travis]

It's evening for me now, so Good Evening Lissart!

My apologies for not responding earlier - we've started another small heat-wave and my work tends to slow down during these times.

First, thank you kindly for your thoughts.  Yes, we're not aggressive businessmen; we do what we do because we love flight simulation and we like to offer a "model" for others to use to better simulate the category of "Air Transport Pilots".
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It's good to know that you're able to get weather inside FSCaptain.  If you would email me a copy of your latest ADMIN log file, I'll get the FSGRW file's location and update our master file for future FSGRW Captains to be able to find their weather file.

My email address is "my name" @fscaptain.net.

Emailing that file will also let me see which aircraft you have and better work with you in areas where aircraft performance and abilities are used.
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Writing that makes me want to work on a new document - How to be a Successful FSCaptain.  In the next few days, I may write a few notes on that topic here.

For example....

Start your career with Cargo Flights instead of PAX Flights.  You won't have to bother with managing Cabin Service, and you won't have to let your Cabin Crew know when it's time to takeoff and when it's time to land.

Start your career with Charter Flights - these are flights with no Scheduled Departure or Arrival times.  This way, you will only have to work with the Block Time clock, and not with the "Real World Clock".  And when you do make the move to working with Scheduled Departure or Arrival times... use Zulu time to keep all clocks the same.

Aircraft Performance is important, but know that your aircraft's performance is unique.  FSCaptain ships with lots of Aircraft Type Configuration files and Aircraft Override Configuration files.  These files contain fairly static values such as fuel storage and max/min weight & runway values.  But they also have fuel burn rate values as well as climb, cruise and descent speed values that are tied to "the way that you fly."  Do you fly with "minimal thrust," or do you always "hug the barber pole"?  When you are descending to land, do you stick to your STAR altitudes and speeds or do you like to "dive, then drive?"

Watch Your Weight(s).  You don't want to take off with more than your Maximum Take Off Weight, and you don't want to land above your Maximum Landing Weight.  You will encounter Penalties... and you might break something....

There are a few non-optional rules you must follow, but there are many optional rules you may follow.  For instance, there is a mandatory rule whereby you will be tracked to keep your altimeter at "Standard Pressure" when you are above your Transition Altitude.  Contra, there is an optional rule to turn your landing lights off above a Airline-Specified Altitude.  By default, you can fly from any country to any other country via any airport.  But if you enable "Customs" then you will be limited to international flights from real-world specific airports.

Always read your Dispatch Release.  You will find lots of limitations and rules that you will need to follow for each flight.  For example... the altitude at which your Airline requires you to turn your Landing Lights off is noted.  Likewise, your aircraft's Maximum Landing Weight.

These are a few items off the top of my head....

Please know that some of our enhancements require SimConnect for FSX and P3D.  So FS9 Captains can encounter our Ground Icing and Deicing rules, but those Captains can't see our Deicing Trucks and Sprays.  Those items use SimObjects and Effects that aren't in FS9 nor MSFS2020.

I'll also mention that to allow FSCaptain to load fuel and payloads into FS9 aircraft requires a full version of FSUIPC for FS9.  If you don't have FSUIPC, then FSCaptain will be less helpful in FS9....

Anyway, please post or email us with any questions you come up with!

Best,